CRUEL KEV'S SCUTTELBUTT

FROM SAINT PAUL, THE CAPITAL OF MINNESOTA

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Spaceman-Turned-Politician Can Call Himself 'Astronaut' On Ballot

Former NASA spaceflyer Jose Hernandez, who is running for a seat in the U.S. Congress out of California this year, can call himself an astronaut on the ballot, a judge ruled Thursday (March 29). Hernandez, a Democrat, flew on the space shuttle Discovery's STS-128 mission in 2009 but left NASA more than a year ago, in January 2011. California Republicans had argued that Hernandez should not be allowed to list his occupation as "astronaut/scientist/engineer" on the ballot, the Los Angeles Times reported.But Judge Lloyd Connelly disagreed, saying that Hernandez is an astronaut for "more than the time spent riding a rocket," according to the Times. Hernadez is vying to represent California's 10th Congressional District, in the state's agriculture-heavy Central Valley. Hernandez knows the Valley and its leading industry well, having grown up picking fruits and vegetables all over California as the son of migrant farm workers.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Obama Giving Away Parts Of The United States To Russia

The Obama administration, despite the nation’s economic woes, effectively killed the job-producing Keystone Pipeline last month. The Arab Spring is turning the oil production of Libya and other Arab nations over to the Muslim Brotherhood. Iraq is distancing itself from the U.S. And everyone recognizes that Iran, whose crude supplies are critical to the European economy, will do anything it can to frustrate America’s strategic interests. In the face of all of this, Obama insists on cutting back U.S. oil potential with outrageous restrictions. Part of Obama’s apparent war against U.S. energy independence includes a foreign-aid program that directly threatens my state’s sovereign territory. Obama’s State Department is giving away seven strategic, resource-laden Alaskan islands to the Russians. Yes, to the Putin regime in the Kremlin. The seven endangered islands in the Arctic Ocean and Bering Sea include one the size of Rhode Island and Delaware combined. The Russians are also to get the tens of thousands of square miles of oil-rich seabeds surrounding the islands. The Department of Interior estimates billions of barrels of oil are at stake. The State Department has undertaken the giveaway in the guise of a maritime boundary agreement between Alaska and Siberia. Astoundingly, our federal government itself drew the line to put these seven Alaskan islands on the Russian side. But as an executive agreement, it could be reversed with the stroke of a pen by President Obama or Secretary Clinton.The agreement was negotiated in total secrecy. The state of Alaska was not allowed to participate in the negotiations, nor was the public given any opportunity for comment. This is despite the fact the Alaska Legislature has passed resolutions of opposition – but the State Department doesn’t seem to care. The imperiled Arctic Ocean islands include Wrangel, Bennett, Jeannette and Henrietta. Wrangel became American in 1881 with the landing of the U.S. Revenue Marine ship Thomas Corwin. The landing party included the famed naturalist John Muir. It is 3,000 square miles in size. Northwest of Wrangel are the DeLong Islands, named for George Washington DeLong, the captain of USS Jeannette. Also in 1881, he discovered and claimed these three islands for the United States. He named them for the voyage co-sponsor, New York City newspaper publisher James Gordon Bennett. The ship’s crew received a hero’s welcome back in Washington, and Congress awarded them gold medals. In the Bering Sea at the far west end of the Aleutian chain are Copper Island, Sea Lion Rock and Sea Otter Rock. They were ceded to the U.S. in Seward’s 1867 treaty with Russia. Now is the time for the Obama administration to stand up for U.S. and Alaskan rights and invaluable resources. The State Department’s maritime agreement is a loser – it gives us nothing in return for giving up Alaska’s sovereign territory and invaluable resources. We won the Cold War and should start acting like it. The Obama administration must stop the giveaway immediately.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Georgia Bill Would Make It Illegal For Illegal Immigrants To Get Sewer Services.

A bill before the Georgia Legislature could prevent illegal immigrants from being able to get a marriage license or access to water and sewage services in the state. The bill sponsored by Sen. Barry Loudermilk, a Cassville Republican, has gotten a lot of attention because it would also bar illegal immigrants from the state's public colleges, universities and technical schools.But another provision removes foreign passports from a list of identification documents that government agencies can accept for certain transactions. The passports would have to be accompanied by federal immigration documentation proving someone is in the country legally. That would effectively bar illegal immigrants from accessing water service or marriage licenses. Loudermilk said that those were unintended consequences, and that an amendment was likely that would remedy them.